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Canadiens Resting Carey Price; Cayden Primeau Recalled

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Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price is on the shelf again and his 2021-22 season could be over after just four starts since returning to action on April 15.

Price allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday and late Sunday afternoon and prior to the Guy Lafleur memorial before their game against the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens announced first announced that goalie Cayden Primeau had been recalled on an emergency basis. Minutes later, Canadiens interim head coach Martin St. Louis announced that Price is undergoing treatments and that he will be out until at least the season finale at the Bell Centre against the Florida Panthers on Friday, if not done for the season. As far as St. Louis was aware though, this was not directly or solely related to Price’s surgically repaired knee.

“I mean I don’t think so, you’d have to talk to the medical staff on that but I think for us, we felt where the amount of games he’s played, give him a break without the travel and then hopefully get him ready for Friday,” St. Louis replied when asked Price had experienced this setback due to the knee he had surgery for last summer.

While the Canadiens – who have now lost eight games straight – have certainly not been good in front of him, Price has struggled. He’s 0-4-0 with a 4.03 GAA and .853 save percentage, allowed six goals in two straight games and has let in 16 goals on 119 shots. When Carey Price returned to start in a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders on April 15 – and even more so when he stopped 28 of 30 Minnesota Wild shots in a 2-0 Montreal Canadiens loss – he did look somewhat like the Price that Montreal Canadiens fans have become accustomed to and fallen in love with for the last ten seasons, especially during the Habs’ improbable run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final last summer. However, in his last two starts he has clearly not been himself.

Samuel Montembeault is set to start against the Boston Bruins Sunday night but a starter has not been named for the Canadiens’ game against the Rangers in new York on Wednesday.